A senior Al Jazeera journalist has been convicted of conspiring against Israel with the terrorist group Hamas.

Samir Allawi, the news network's Kabul bureau chief, was arrested last month as he left the West Bank for Jordan.

He admitted being recruited by Hamas in Pakistan 18 years ago and said he had helped direct Hamas activities.

The Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet said there was evidence that he had agreed "to carry out military or organisational activity as required by Hamas", including showing support for the Palestinian "resistance" in his reporting and attending meetings with active Hamas members in 2006 and 2010.

He was convicted by an Israeli military court of "conspiracy to provide a service for an outlawed organisation" but was released from prison under a plea bargain deal.